Typically, it is desirable to confine small children or pets to a secure area. Conversely, it may be advantageous to prevent small children or pets from entering a hazardous area. For example, since small children require virtually constant attention to prevent them from getting into injurious situations an adult may find it useful to confine the child to a room free from hazards while attending to other chores.
Previous approaches to this problem have included providing gates that, typically, adjust to doorways of varying width and that incorporate some sort of mechanism that both fixes the gate in place and is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a child or pet to release. U.S. Pat. No. 2,756,469 issued Jul. 31, 1956 to Cattermole et al. for a "Barrier for a Doorway are the Like" discloses a single panel door gate that can be adjusted to doorways of varying width by extending the bumpers associated with each side of the gate. Rough adjustment of the gate to a doorway is accomplished by adjusting the extension of the bumpers on one side of the gate using a spring-loaded lock pin type of arrangement. The bumpers on the other side of the gate engage the doorway using a rack and pinion type of arrangement. The pinion element includes a rotatable handle wherein the handle can be locked in place to one of the rails associated with the gate. Upon rotation of the handle, the bumpers associated with both sides of the gate apply a normal force to the door jamb which frictionally fixes the gate in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,277 issued Jul. 28, 1959 to Halligan for a "Gate Structure" discloses a single panel gate that is adjustable to fit doorways of varying width. Width adjustment is achieved by adjusting the upper bumper on one side of the gate using a notched-rod device. Adjustment of the opposing upper bumper by a threaded rod and lever mechanism fixes the upper pair of bumpers in the doorway. Halligan then employs a rotating foot pedal to move a pair of bumpers into engagement with the floor thereby securing the gate.
A more recent door gate is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,455 issued Aug. 26, 1986 to Bluem et al. for an "Adjustable Gate for Doorways". Bluem, in contrast to the prior patents, discloses a two-panel gate that is adjusted to fit in a doorway by a crank and rack assembly. By turning the crank the panels slide relative to one another thereby allowing the gate to fit doorways of varying width. Once roughly adjusted and placed in the doorway, further cranking results in a wedging-type action which fixes the gate in place.
A closure mechanism for a safe is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,277 issued Sept. 11, 1984 to Uyeda for a "Security Door Lock Mechanism". Uyeda discloses a safe-locking mechanism which utilizes a rotating handle located on the outside of the door to linearly translate a slotted panel located on the inside of the door. Fitted into the slots are dowels that are, in turn, attached to posts which engage holes in the walls of the safe thereby preventing the safe door from being opened. Translation of the slotted panel in one direction serves to force the posts into the holes thereby locking the door. The forces thus provided to the dowels are off-set from the post movement axes and, in this sense are not colinear therewith. Translation of the slotted panel in the opposite direction retracts the pins from the holes thereby unlocking the door.
Previous approaches to providing a security gate have been subject to a number of disadvantages. Previous devices have required somewhat difficult or awkward locking mechanisms such as separate or manual locking of a handle or crank. At least partially because of this, in a typical device, placement of the device requires use of two hands which can be inconvenient when, for example, carrying an infant. Similarly, disengagement or removal of previous devices typically require release, unlocking or manipulation of a handle in an awkward fashion often requiring the use of two hands for removal of the security gate.
Accordingly, there is a need for a security gate which is easily installable, preferably requiring no more than a single handed installation, and easily removable, preferably removable with no more than single hand operation. Further, it is desirable to provide a security gate which has efficient operation so that forces sufficiently transmitted to the friction components, does not require drilling or making holes in door jambs, is easily adjustable to accommodate a range of widths of doorways, and can be conveniently repositioned when not in use.